As part of our Housing Market series, we'll be posting reviews and rankings for each of Harvard's 12 residential Houses over the next few days. Click here to read more about the series.
Nestled between Adams, Leverett, Lowell and DeWolfe, Quincy is centrally located in the middle of the River Houses. Quincy has monumental House spirit, enthusiastic House Masters, a host of fun traditions, and some of the best housing on campus.
Dining Hall: Quincy has one of Harvard's most popular dining halls. As a result of its central location, acceptable food, and lenient dining restrictions, residents and non-residents alike flock to the dining hall for lunches and dinners. During peak hours, it can be difficult for residents to find a seat among the swarm of strangers. Community night every Thursday, however, allows Quincyites to enjoy a less crowded meal together. Throughout the afternoons and evenings, students gather in the dining hall for club meetings and less academic socializing, and the windows surrounding the dining hall allow for an appreciation of the setting sun that many other darkened dining halls fail to provide.
Common spaces: There are a variety of common spaces that are perfect for studying and hanging out. The Quincy Grille, which is open until 2 a.m. during the week and 4 a.m. on Saturday is a Quincy favorite. The mozzarella sticks from the Grille are delicious, and the grille offers occasional specialty burgers like "The Rancher"—a recent creation composed of a hamburger, crispy onion rings, bacon, and Tex-Mex cheese—all for only $6. Pair this with a ping-pong table and pool tables, and you've got the ultimate common space. To top it all off, the House also boasts of a pottery studio, a dance studio, and a gym.
Rooms: Sophomores are, for the most part, placed in Old Quincy, which means walkthroughs, small rooms, and the occasional unwanted rodent or cockroach. The housing greatly improves junior and senior year, however, when most residents move to New Quincy and enjoy singles and huge common rooms. Since New Quincy contains the dining hall and connects to the Qube—Quincy's House library—residents do not have to brave the cold winter weather to move around the House.
With the looming renovation of Old Quincy, housing will change as a portion of students are moved to temporary spaces around Cambridge. Although many of the details haven't been released, it's clear that renovations will drastically impact both rooming and House community.
House Spirit: Quincy residents can be spotted all around campus proudly wearing their personalized Quincy sweatshirts and exuding Quincy pride. To bring the House further together, there are events like Field Day, Quincy's Got Talent, and Assassins.
Location: As Quincy is in the middle of the River Houses, residents are equidistant from Eliot as they are to Mather, and getting to Emerson Hall takes five minutes. Despite being a River House, Quincy is not actually on the river, meaning that Quincy residents have views of Dewolfe or other Houses from their rooms instead of the beautiful Charles River.
Quirks: The Qube has a large comic book collection that can be viewed upon request. Other quirks include the old-fashioned dining booths next to the Grille—an easy and comfortable way for Quincy to show its superiority.
Rating: Because of its overcrowded dining hall and the poor views from rooms, this year Quincy House is ranked sixth of 12.
Our rankings so far:
6. Quincy
7. Dunster
8. Leverett
9. Currier
10. Mather
11. Winthrop
12. Cabot